What is estrogen and why does it matter?
Estrogen matters: it’s the most effective treatment for hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause, and when started early and used continuously, it has important health benefits and can actually prevent some of the adverse events it was thought to cause.
Should high-risk women stop taking estrogens?
Bluming and Tavris don’t recommend estrogen for osteoporosis prevention in all women: the vast majority will not develop osteoporosis or die from it. But the research is persuasive that high-risk women would benefit from continuing to take estrogens. Alzheimer’s disease
Can estrogen protect your memory?
There is evidence that we already have a powerful preventive: decades of research have indicated that estrogen helps preserve the cognitive ability of postmenopausal women and reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s. In 2003, the WHI Memory Study found just the opposite.
What is estrogen matter?
Groundbreaking and carefully researched, Estrogen Matters provides essential information about the many benefits of estrogen at menopause and even after a diagnosis of breast cancer. It reveals the misinterpretation of study results that led women (and their doctors) to have unwarranted concerns about estrogen use.
Who is the former President of the Society for Women's Health Research?
"I hope Estrogen Matters draws enough attention to counter the fears and misinformation about HRT that so many women, and their physicians, still hold." ― Phyllis Greenberger, MSW, former President and CEO of the Society for Women's Health Research
Does estrogen help with vision?
Estrogen helps preserve vision. Over the past several years, evidence has been demonstrating that postmenopausal estrogen appears to delay or prevent dry eye, cataracts, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration. One article from the Journal of Endocrinology in 2014 summarized the findings: ...
How many strokes did women with estrogen have?
Over 10,000 person-years, women on estrogen plus progestin had 7 more coronary events, 8 more strokes, 8 more pulmonary emboli, and 8 more invasive breast cancers than women who didn’t take hormones; but they also had 6 fewer colorectal cancers and 5 fewer hip fractures.
Does estrogen help with Alzheimer's?
There is evidence that we already have a powerful preventive: decades of research have indicated that estrogen helps preserve the cognitive ability of postmenopausal women and reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s.
Can you take estrogen if you have breast cancer?
Conventional wisdom says women who have had breast cancer should not take estrogen. That conventional wisdom was never actually supported by any good evidence. Bluming’s breast cancer patients wanted relief of their menopausal symptoms, so he started looking into it. He found that neither lowering estrogen levels by removing ovaries or raising levels by becoming pregnant had any effect on the recurrence of breast cancer. He did his own study and found that HRT had no effect on the recurrence rate. Numerous other studies subsequently confirmed his findings, with only a single study pointing the other way. In fact, there is evidence that HRT may reduce the recurrence rate and prolong survival.
Is estrogen good for hot flashes?
They advocate individualizing decisions based on many factors such as the severity of menopausal symptoms and the patient’s risk of osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer, etc. Estrogen is the only really effective treatment for hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause.
Does estrogen help with heart disease?
The evidence at that time showed that estrogen reduced the risk of osteo porosis and heart disease. In my experience, it was not being prescribed just to prevent those diseases, but prevention was seen as an extra added benefit for women who needed estrogen to control menopausal symptoms.
Is it safe to take the lowest dose of HRT?
There is no scientific basis for the recommendation to take the lowest dose for the shortest time. The North American Menopause Society advises clinicians to move away from this simplistic advice and instead prescribe the dose and formulation that meet each patient’s needs and concerns based on the woman’s age, time of menopause, and any unique health risks she might have. The book provides a long list of organizations that endorse the continued use of HRT after the age of 65.
Can you take estrogen with a hysterectomy?
Women who had had a hysterectomy could safely take estrogen alone (ERT). Estrogen was contraindicated for women who had had breast cancer. As of the 1990s, the evidence indicated that estrogen reduced the risk of heart disease by 40-50%, hip fractures by 50%, colon cancer by 50%, and Alzheimer’s by 35%. A 1997 article estimated HRT would prolong ...
